Former Wales captain Sam Warburton has identified a key issue for Steve Tandy's side after they were kept scoreless for the second consecutive match against South Africa, losing 43-0 in Durban. Warburton believes Wales must find ways to involve their powerful backs more frequently, citing that strike runners like Louis Rees-Zammit and Max Llewellyn had only two and one carry respectively.
Warburton calls for more touches for backs
Speaking on ITV, Warburton said: "I'm looking over the last three weeks, guys like Jac Morgan have been great. I'm talking about go-forward and carry dominance as that's such a massive part of the game. Aaron Wainwright has been a great carrier, as has Rhys Carre and Dewi Lake. Where Wales have struggled in the past is they've not had enough forward carriers who can cause dents and damage."
He added: "I look at today's game as an example, with the strike runners we've got. Louis Rees-Zammit, two carries. Max Llewellyn, one carry. Now I've stood next to both those men. They're impressive athletes size-wise, with power and speed. Even Eddie James hasn't got as much involvements as you'd like. Now I can't blame the players for that. Sometimes you have to look for work. But it's how can we get them into the game off kick reception or set-piece. Get those guys double-figure touches. Your big, fast, dynamic athletes, get them 10-plus touches."
Warburton concluded: "If Wales have a backline where Eddie James, Max Llewellyn and Louis Rees-Zammit are getting 10 touches each, that's 30 touches off the ball, they'll cause more damage. That's easier said than done, but the coaching group have to find a way of manufacturing that because we've got some good personnel now who can cause damage."
Former Wales stars question team identity
Former Wales internationals Scott Baldwin and James Hook also highlighted concerns about the team's identity after the heavy defeat. Hook told BBC Radio Wales: "Wales have got physical players that they could have picked today. You've got Max Llewellyn and Eddie James, it's just about how you use players like that. We haven't really got an identity."
Hook added: "They've (South Africa) shown their power all game, we've seen it in the scrum, we've seen it in the maul. South Africa left a lot of opportunities out there, but in the second half Wales were hardly in their half from an attacking point of view."
Baldwin echoed the sentiment: "I feel flatter after that than the last game back in the autumn. We only had three players missing today and South Africa had a weaker team than when we played them last. I don't really know other than two games what our identity is." He added: "What we've learnt today is that they are a resilient group. We've got a set-piece against 90% of teams in the world and we've got to build on that if we want to be competitive in the Six Nations and the rest of the Nations Championship."
Tandy 'bitterly disappointed' by one-sided defeat
Wales head coach Steve Tandy expressed his disappointment after the match. "I am bitterly disappointed with the scoreline," said Tandy. "I commend the team around the effort, they stayed in the fight for large parts of the game. There's massive pride in our players, how hard they work and the effort they put in, up against the world champions."
He added: "It was pretty one-sided when it comes to us defending and getting the ball. Probably the one or two moments we did get an opportunity weren't accurate enough. Whether it be a knock-on or whether there was space we didn't take it and then we probably could have been a bit more ruthless when we had three or four penalties in a row, but we didn't take that. South Africa are physical at the breakdown, they're a well-oiled defensive unit as well. So there's lots of things that we'll have to get better at and grow again."
Ill-disciplined England survive tense finish to edge out Argentina
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent, Santiago del Estero
England spared the nation more heartbreak at the hands of Argentina after surviving a nerve-jangling period of overtime to triumph 31-24, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's stunning finish proving decisive. Three days after their football counterparts crashed out of the World Cup with a 2-1 semi-final collapse against Argentina, Steve Borthwick's men came through their customary disciplinary implosion in a stormy encounter in Santiago del Estero.
Yellow cards shown to Jack van Poortvliet, Alex Coles, Henry Pollock and Emmanuel Iyogun meant they were forced to play a total of nine minutes with 13 men, yet they hustled their way to a second successive victory. England have now been shown 14 yellow cards and one red in their eight matches in 2026.
It was Feyi-Waboso's dynamic solo try in the 69th minute that spelt the end for Argentina and the Exeter wing was the most dangerous player on the field as his willingness to hunt for the ball was rewarded. But England were subjected to an agonising wait three minutes into time added on as the officials checked a possible try in the right corner by Bautista Delguy, only for video referee Brett Cronan to rule out the score despite a potential high tackle by Noah Caluori in the build-up, with Henry Slade's tackle stopping the try.
Argentina seemed more interested in engaging off the ball than playing rugby, but they came to their senses in time for the second half and even threatened the latest of upsets. 'La Cuarta Estrella' – the nationalist anthem played during the football team's run to the World Cup final – whipped up the home fans before kick-off and inside four minutes a fight had erupted as the two sides locked horns in the right corner.
Unfortunately for the Pumas, it broke out after Tommy Freeman had grabbed Fin Smith's kick to cross and, apart from some loose passing, it had been a pleasing start, with resolve shown in defence when needed. Feyi-Waboso was breaking through the blue wall at will and, when the outstanding Joe Hayes won a turnover, he was away again, with Ben Earl on hand to finish his team's second try.
Mateo Carreras was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Freeman and Argentina's players took exception to Jamie George's celebrations after Earl had touched down to reward a scrum that hurtled forwards. The melee subsided and, while Pumas supporters responded briefly to the aggression shown by Argentina off the ball, they had long since been silenced by England's dominance.
With little fuss Carreras crashed over early in the second half and England were now losing the collisions, while Van Poortvliet being shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on compounded their problems. Coles joined Van Poortvliet in the sin-bin for his deliberate knock-on after Slade had hauled down the racing Tomas Albornoz and, with the incident taking so close to the line, Angus Gardner also awarded a penalty try.
Joaquin Oviedo's dangerous clear-out on Guy Pepper, earning him 10 minutes in the stands, gave England some respite and, with Henry Pollock's arrival off the bench, they had an injection of energy. A Pollock carry led to Marcus Smith crossing in the right corner before Feyi-Waboso finished in style and then the Northampton flanker went off. Iyogun was the next to leave and Argentina had the final say through Justo Piccardo, but England already had a scrappy win in the bank as they came through the final nervy seconds that could have seen the Pumas snatch a draw.
